ELATION
April 2002 | 7-Night Mexican Riviera Cruise – Los Angeles, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán & Cabo San Lucas
In April 2002, we traveled aboard Carnival Elation (Carnival Cruise Line) on a seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise from Los Angeles. The voyage included visits to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas, documenting the Fantasy-class ship during her years of regular West Coast service.
In April 2002, we traveled aboard Carnival Elation on a seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise from Los Angeles. Our voyage took us south along the Pacific coast of Mexico with visits to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas before returning to Southern California. The cruise provided our opportunity to experience Carnival Elation during the period when she was regularly based on the West Coast.
Built by Kværner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland, Carnival Elation entered service for Carnival Cruise Line in 1998. She was the seventh of eight Fantasy-class ships, a highly successful series that played an important role in Carnival's expansion during the 1990s. Carnival Elation began her career with a Panama Canal repositioning voyage from Miami to Los Angeles before beginning regular seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises from Southern California.
Our April 2002 cruise took place during this original West Coast chapter of the ship's career. The photographs in this collection document both Carnival Elation and destinations from our voyage, creating a record of the ship several years after she entered service and before she eventually moved to other Carnival homeports.
Information List
Name: Carnival Elation
Operator: Carnival Cruise Line
Ship Type: Cruise ship
Class: Fantasy Class
Builder: Kværner Masa-Yards, Helsinki, Finland
Floated Out: January 4, 1998
Delivered: March 20, 1998
Entered Service: 1998
Gross Tonnage: Approximately 71,900 GT
Length: Approximately 855 feet / 260.6 meters
Beam: Approximately 103 feet / 31.5 meters
Draft: Approximately 26 feet / 8 meters
Guest Capacity: Approximately 2,190
Crew: Approximately 900
IMO Number: 9118721
Cruise: Seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise
Departure Port: Los Angeles, California
Ports Visited: Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas
Cruise Date: April 2002
Personal Voyage: Traveled aboard Carnival Elation
History and Features
Construction and Entry Into Service:
Carnival Elation was built by Kværner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland, for Carnival Cruise Line.
She was floated out on January 4, 1998.
The completed ship was delivered to Carnival on March 20, 1998.
Carnival Elation became the seventh member of Carnival's eight-ship Fantasy class.
Her introduction came during a period of significant expansion for Carnival Cruise Line.
She entered service as one of the newer large cruise ships assigned to the West Coast.
Beginning Her West Coast Career:
Carnival Elation began her career with a repositioning voyage from Miami to Los Angeles through the Panama Canal.
The voyage brought the new ship to Southern California for her first regular deployment.
On April 12, 1998, Carnival Elation began her inaugural West Coast program.
The ship operated seven-night roundtrip Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles.
Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas formed the principal ports on this itinerary.
The same basic Mexican Riviera route remained part of Carnival Elation's West Coast deployment when we traveled aboard her in April 2002.
Fantasy-Class Design:
Carnival Elation was the seventh of eight Fantasy-class cruise ships built for Carnival.
The class began with Fantasy in 1990 and became one of the most important ship designs in Carnival's expansion during the decade.
The ships were substantially larger than many earlier Carnival vessels and were designed around the growing concept of the cruise ship as a destination in itself.
Large interior public spaces, entertainment venues, dining rooms, lounges, pools, and extensive open decks were central to the design.
Carnival Paradise, delivered later in 1998, completed the eight-ship class.
Shipboard Design:
Like other Carnival ships of her generation, Carnival Elation was designed with highly themed interiors and dramatic public spaces.
The multi-story atrium forms one of the central architectural features of the ship.
Lounges, bars, restaurants, entertainment spaces, and passenger areas were each given distinct decorative identities.
The design reflects the theatrical approach that became strongly associated with Carnival's ships during the 1990s.
These spaces were an important part of the onboard experience during our 2002 cruise.
Our 2002 Mexican Riviera Cruise:
We traveled aboard Carnival Elation in April 2002 on a seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise.
The voyage sailed roundtrip from Los Angeles.
Our Mexican ports included Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas.
The cruise took place approximately four years after Carnival Elation began operating from the West Coast.
At the time, she was still one of the newer members of Carnival's Fantasy-class fleet.
This voyage establishes Carnival Elation as part of the Ocean Liner Photography Ships Traveled On collection.
Puerto Vallarta:
Puerto Vallarta was one of the three Mexican ports visited during our cruise.
Located on Bahía de Banderas along Mexico's Pacific coast, the city developed into one of the country's best-known resort destinations.
Its combination of beaches, surrounding mountains, historic neighborhoods, and waterfront made it an established Mexican Riviera cruise port.
For Carnival Elation, Puerto Vallarta formed the southern portion of the regular seven-night itinerary from Los Angeles.
Mazatlán:
Mazatlán was another port visited during our April 2002 voyage.
Located on the Pacific coast of Sinaloa, the city has a long maritime and commercial history in addition to its role as a tourism destination.
Cruise ships dock within Mazatlán's working harbor rather than at a purpose-built resort complex.
The existing photographs from this collection include Carnival Elation in Mazatlán during our cruise.
The port formed the middle destination of the ship's established Mexican Riviera itinerary.
Cabo San Lucas:
Cabo San Lucas was the third Mexican destination associated with the seven-night itinerary.
Located at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, Cabo is known for the rock formations around Land's End, including El Arco.
Cruise ships generally anchor offshore rather than docking directly in the harbor.
Tender boats carry passengers between the ship and the marina.
Cabo San Lucas provided the final Mexican port experience before the return toward Southern California.
Carnival and the Mexican Riviera:
The Mexican Riviera has played an important role in Carnival's West Coast operations.
Seven-night cruises from Southern California traditionally combined Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Cabo San Lucas.
Carnival Elation began operating this itinerary shortly after entering service in 1998.
By the time of our cruise in April 2002, the ship had spent approximately four years serving the West Coast market.
The deployment made Carnival Elation a familiar sight in Los Angeles and at Mexican Pacific ports.
Later Service:
Carnival Elation remained on the West Coast until 2003 before moving to other Carnival homeports.
She subsequently operated from Galveston and later returned to Southern California, including service from San Diego.
Her later deployments included cruises from Gulf Coast and southeastern United States ports.
While many of her Fantasy-class sisters eventually left the Carnival fleet, Carnival Elation remained in service.
Her long career has made her one of the surviving representatives of Carnival's major 1990s shipbuilding program.
Connection to the 2009 San Diego Gallery:
Our April 2002 cruise and the July 24, 2009 San Diego photographs represent two separate periods in our history with Carnival Elation.
The 2002 collection documents our personal seven-night voyage aboard the ship.
The 2009 gallery documents Carnival Elation during a later visit to San Diego and should not be interpreted as the date of our cruise.
Together, the two collections show the ship during different periods of her West Coast service.
Legacy:
Carnival Elation represents an important generation in the development of Carnival Cruise Line.
The Fantasy class helped expand Carnival's fleet and establish many of the characteristics associated with the company's cruise experience during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Our seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise in April 2002 provides a personal record of Carnival Elation during her original West Coast deployment.
The ship's continued service many years later gives this early voyage additional historical context within both Carnival's fleet and the Ocean Liner Photography collection.
OLP Social: Our seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise visited Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas during the ship’s original West Coast deployment, approximately four years after she began sailing from Southern California.
